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Find the most similar historic event to World War II.


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World War I, which was fought between 1914 and 1918, is considered to be the closest in terms of casualties, physical destruction, and global impacts. The two wars were instigated by aggressors and sparked off escalating hostilities which led to the eventual involvement of the major world powers at the time. Both wars featured heavily mechanized warfare and unprecedented mobilization of soldiers and resources resulting in unprecedented loss of life and destruction.